Maintaining adequate blood flow and pressure is essential to ensure that vital organs, particularly the brain, receive sufficient oxygen and nutrients. Under normal conditions, the cardiovascular system can regulate sudden changes in blood pressure and blood flow. However, rapid fluid shifts toward the lower body, known as orthostatic intolerance (OI), can sometimes overwhelm the body’s regulatory mechanisms. This can lead to hypotension and symptoms such as dizziness or fainting, and in severe cases can progress to temporary loss of consciousness. To counteract these effects, compression garments are commonly employed in both medical and operational environments. Examples of this can be seen in pilots through the use of G-suits during high-G maneuvers and astronauts who wear specialized garments to help their cardiovascular systems readjust after returning from space.
Despite their utility, current compression systems have notable drawbacks. They often fail to adapt to individual physiological differences, meaning compression may be applied at the wrong time or at an ineffective level. Many current garments are also bulky and cumbersome, manually operated, and only offer a single static pressure setting, limiting their effectiveness. Recent advances in soft robotics and smart materials, such as shape memory alloys, have improved actuation capabilities, but these systems remain user-controlled and lack full autonomy, which is essential for an individual performing complex tasks such as landing a space vehicle. This research effort focuses on the development of a next generation compression garment that automatically adjusts in real time using biometric feedback, offering a personalized and adaptive countermeasure for OI in demanding environments.
